


Arthur

by littlemisscurious



Series: Days In Our Lives [30]
Category: Actor RPF, Benedict Cumberbatch - Fandom, British Actor RPF
Genre: DaddyBatch, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, Love, Treasure Hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2014-03-30
Packaged: 2018-01-14 13:46:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1268638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisscurious/pseuds/littlemisscurious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>based on a prompt: Ben&Charlene organise a treasure hunt for their children on a rainy day</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

 

 

“Can you hear them yet?” Charlene's voice was a mere whisper against his skin but he could literally hear and feel how nervous and excited she was. One of her legs was intertwined with his, her foot tapping an irregular rhythm against his ankle. Turning his head ever so slightly to be able to look at her properly, Benedict smiled.

“I think Noah just went into Vivienne's bedroom,” he whispered in reply, lovingly kissing his wife's nose.

“Oh dear, I hope they'll like it. Do you think they'll like it?” Again, the nervous tapping of her foot against his ankle.

“Honey, they will love it. Relax, it will all be fine, you'll see,” he grinned, pulling the duvet higher as they'd have to pretend to be fast asleep when their children came into their bedroom. Instead of a reply, Charlene simply buried her face in the crook of his neck while her hand slowly wandered under his shirt, relishing the feeling of his strong, muscular back underneath her fingertips.

Only a few minutes later the quiet, careful padding of feet upon the wooden floor could be heard beside their bed and Charlene had to force herself not to giggle as Vivienne and Noah climbed onto their bed.

“Mummy? Daddy?” It was their oldest son who tried to wake them up first before Vivienne, preferring a more hands-on approach, simply kissed them loudly on the cheeks. Charlene let her husband do the acting a he pretended to slowly wake up from a deep, restful sleep.

“Oh, god morning you two. Want to join us for a morning cuddle?” Initially, little Vivienne nodded excitedly before her brother reminded her of the crumpled piece of paper in his hands wherefore she shook her head, albeit a little sadly. Benedict noticed it of course and turned towards her anyway to pull his only daughter into a loving, hug, making her giggle with delight.

“Mum, I found something in my room,” Noah said hesitantly and climbed over his father and sister while Charlene sat up to lift him onto her lap. Breathing a kiss onto his temple, she smiled at him. “And what is that, darling?” He held out the piece of paper towards her and she took it carefully. “Oh, what's that?,” she asked even though he knew it, had it been her who had made it last night.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Noah leant onto her. “Well, it's a treasure hunt. There' this Arthur and he sent this to Viv, Leo and myself and it says he needs our help to find something for him.” Charlene nodded as her son explained the letter quietly.

“And what does he expect you to do, this Arthur? Nothing dangerous, I hope.” Noah immediately shook his ginger curls. “No...well, I don't think so at least. It just says we need to be looking for clues and we should bring food and our explorer kits.” His mum nodded and gently poked Benedict into the thigh.

“Honey, sit up. Obviously there's a treasure hunt we have to prepare our children for,” she smiled and he sat up, feigning surprise.

“Really? How exciting! What are you looking for?” His ocean-blue eyes lit up with excitement while he held his daughter close to his chest. Noah consulted the letter once more.

“Arthur can't tell us because he's afraid someone else other than us might go looking for it,” he said after reading it again and both Benedict and Charlene nodded understandingly.

“Well, we better get up then so the search can begin sooner rather than later,” Ben winked and with Vivienne still in his arms, he crawled off the bed to go downstairs.

***

“Sweetheart, do you want to stay in your nightie or do you want to change into something else?,” Charlene asked her daughter with a smile while little Leopold in her arms rested his head tiredly against her shoulder. As if asking for his advice, Vivienne turned towards her older brother to see what he would do and he smiled lovingly at the little girl.

“We could wear our hiking cloth, Viv. What do you think?” The mutual love and adoration between her children made Charlene beam with pride and Benedict, leaning against the cooking island opposite her, nodded in her direction, knowing exactly how she felt. Of course they had their moments when they didn't get along, when they argued and pouted. Most of the time, however, Noah was incredibly gentle with and protective of his younger siblings who looked up to him in admiration.

The little girl nodded in excitement, her tousled brown hair bobbing up and down ere she took the hand he offered to her and together they went upstairs to get changed for their adventure. Their little lunch boxes sat ready and filled on the worktop, a filled water bottle beside each of them. Leopold, however, was not yet fully convinced of the advantages of a treasure hunt in comparison to a day cuddling on the sofa wherefore he was still leaning onto his mother, relishing her warmth and protection.

“You want to take it easy, don't you, little man?,” Charlene whispered with a loving smile and held him close as Benedict walked over to them and pressed a kiss onto his head. Immediately, Leo turned towards him and beamed widely, his small, chubby cheeks slightly rosy due to the warmth in the kitchen as he stretched his arms out to his daddy who took him carefully from his mother's embrace, showering him with love and affection.

***

“How many have they found so far?,” Charlene whispered into her husband's ear as she hugged him from behind standing at the bottom of the staircase. He chuckled quietly and turned around in her embrace, kissing her briefly. “Five so far, if I've counted correctly. They still haven't found the one in the bathroom, though, and there are still five more clues to find in addition to this. Do you think it's time we gave them a little hint? I'm getting hungry,” he breathed into her ear, his warm breath wafting over her skin, sending goosebumps down her arms and a tingle down her spine.

“Yes, maybe we should,” she nodded and let her fingers glide through his soft, brown curls, relishing the feeling of them underneath her fingertips before the quiet padding of feet interrupted their intimate moment.

“Hello young man,” Benedict smiled instantly, bending down to pick up his youngest son who was holding one of his wooden cars, beaming with pride. “Oh what a pretty car you've got there. Shall I go and get one myself so we can have a car race, eh?”

 

“Mummy, Daddy! We've found the next clue!,” Noah shouted from upstairs all of a sudden, holding up another piece of paper while his sister was clinging to the banister next to him.

“That's fantastic, sweetheart! What does it say?,” his mother asked with a proud smile, looking up at them.

“It says we should go into Daddy's office. Are we allowed to, Daddy?,” the young boy asked, holding Vivienne's hand as they descended the stairs together.

“Well, of course, Noah. If Arthur says you need to go in there, you should,” Benedict winked, cradling Leopold in his arms, who was still more interested in his toy car than finding a treasure.

Noah and Vivienne, however, loved it the longer it took and as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, they ran to the heavy oak door at the end of the hallway, their Daddy's private room, which they were never allowed in on their own.

Charlene held her breath as her eldest slowly opened the door and no sooner than hearing the surprised gasps and 'oohs' and 'wooows' from her children, did she release it again. Of course she knew what they had found. Last night, after they had gone to bed, Benedict and herself had built a blanket fort inside the office/library out of all the spare blankets and pillows and chairs they were able to find without raising their children's suspicion. Little, golden fairy lights illuminated the fort inside and a picnic basket was waiting by the entrance, which Charlene had placed there just minutes before.

The heavenly smell of baked beans on toast filled the air and a warming fire crackled away in the fireplace. It had taken Benedict quite a lot of convincing to actually get his wife to sleep in the bed last night instead of staying in the blanket fort. But maybe they'd have a chance to do it another time. For now, though, it was Vivienne and Noah, slowly followed by Leopold, who examined the fort more closely, soon choosing their favourite spot while reading the little note lying on the ground in the middle of it.

  
“Mummy, Daddy, Leopold, come quickly! Arthur's made lunch for us all,” Noah shouted through the house and Vivienne squealed with delight as she carefully lifted the lid off the wooden basket by the fort entrance. It didn't take long for little Leopold to crawl into the cave, followed by Charlene and Benedict, who cuddled up on the numerous cushions, helping their children with their food.

As he watched his little family enjoy the warming treat, Benedict wasn't quite sure whose eyes shone brighter with excitement and happiness, his wife's or his children's.


	2. Part 2

“Come here my little adventurer,” Charlene grinned and pulled Noah onto her lap, his face covered in tomato sauce. The young boy simply grinned cheekily and tried to give her a kiss with his tomato lips but his mother was quicker and covered his mouth with a napkin before he was able to reach her. He mumbled something against the paper while she wiped his face to get him ready for their treasure hunt again.

“What was that, sweetheart?,” she winked and Noah laughed quietly.

“I said you’re a spoilsport, Mummy,” he replied cheekily. “Oh am I, yes?,” Charlene asked with a grin, her eyebrows raised, and he nodded, once more confirming his statement.

Loud screeching and laughter filled the air soon after as she had started a tickle attack on her oldest son who tried to escape her fingers, though in vain.

“Mummy no! Please stop!,” Noah shrieked, lying on the padded floor of their little fort as his two younger siblings and father looked on with delight. It didn’t take long for Vivienne and Leopold to come to his defence, though, and Charlene found herself trapped under her laughing children soon after.

 

“Alright, I give up! You won,” she grinned, holding onto Leopold who was now lying on her chest, grinning happily, while Noah and Vivienne desperately tried to catch their breath as they leaned onto Benedict, their hair tousled and their cheeks flushed.

“I think your Mum will need some time to rest now,” Ben winked and Noah nodded in agreement.

“We haven’t found another clue yet, though, Daddy,” Vivienne reminded him, wiping a few strands of hair out of her gorgeous little face.

“Hm, have you looked everywhere?” Casually, Benedict opened the lid of the wooden basket which had had their lunch in it just moments before and quickly Noah and Vivienne crawled over his lap to have a look inside. At the bottom of the basket lay a small, folded piece of paper.

 

“Only two more, Daddy! We need to find only two more!,” Vivienne shouted with excitement, bouncing up and down happily, which sent her curls flying.

“Wow, that is great, sweetheart. And have you kept all the other notes you found so far so you can go and find the word later?,” Benedict smiled, pulling her into his arms before she kissed him soundly on the cheek.

“Yes we have! Noah's got the ones he found in his backpack and I have the ones that I found in my backpack. Leo hasn't found one yet, though, because he was playing with you.”

Benedict looked at his youngest son as he sat in the middle of the fort, his hair sticking out and his eyes gleaming while his mother drove a little toy car in circles around him.

“You know, Vivienne, I think Leopold is still a little young to go on adventures. But maybe when you've found the solution you could tell him all about it. That would be great, wouldn't it?”

Vivienne nodded with a big smile before she turned around to find her backpack, which did not only contain the notes but also her little explorer kit.

“Come on Noah, we need to go and find the next clue!,” she urged her big brother who nodded in consent and only minutes after they both vanished out of the fort to find Arthur's beloved treasure.

 

***

“We found it! We found it! Mummy! Daddy! We found the last note!,” Noah shouted through the entire house as he came running from the living room into the playroom next door, the white note in his hand raised above his head. Vivienne came running after him equally as excited as her big brother and their parents smiled at them with pride and happiness.

“Come on then, get the other notes out so you can try to guess the word you'll need to discover his treasure,” Benedict smiled, holding onto Leopold sitting on his lap. They had been busy playing with the wooden train track they had gotten for Christmas but now Arthur's treasure was way more important than the wooden train in the little boy's hand.

With big eyes the little boy crawled over to Noah who pulled out note after note from his little green backpack, placing them neatly onto the floor on front of him while Vivienne did the same.

“Look Leo, these are all the notes and clues we found. Now we need to make a word out them!,” Noah smiled lovingly and his little brother beamed at him with his chubby cheeks.

 

“Daddy can you help us with the letters?” Once more Vivienne wiped a few hairs out of her eyes as she looked at her father who nodded with a loving smile.

“Let's get an extra piece of paper and a pen so we can write all the letters down and then we can look for the word you need,” Benedict suggested.

Pen and paper were found quickly and together with his children, he pretended to search for the solution although he knew full well what they were looking for.

 

“Okay, so far we've got 'LAND'. That leaves us with S I N E D Y. Any idea what that could be?,” he smiled at Vivienne and Noah who were both thinking hard about what the remaining letters could mean.

 

“DISNEYLAND! Does it say Disneyland, Daddy?” Noah, almost bursting with excitement, stared at his father, awaiting his reply. For years he had wanted to go there but they had never gone for various reasons. He could not yet quite believe his dream might come true after all.

“What do you think, darling? Does it say Disneyland?,” Benedict asked his wife with a grin, who, with an innocent smile on her lips, had a look at the letters herself.

“I think it does, my love. Unless you and I are both mistaken. But I am confident it does say Disneyland,” Charlene replied.

 

With a loud squeal Noah jumped up from the ground and danced around their playroom, his little sister and, last but not least, also Leopold, who, quite honestly had no idea what was going on, following shortly.

“Ahhhh, we are going to Disneyland!! Oh my god, Viv, can you believe it??” Noah's cheeks were flushed with excitement and Benedict and Charlene watched their children dancing happily around the room.

That surprise was definitely a success.


End file.
